September 2, 1998, Vol. 20, No. 31
September 2, 1998,
Vol. 20, No. 31
Ryan Schuetz, son of Gail Schuetz, RN, Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit, grins for the camera as part of the "milk
mustache" contest during the Aug. 27 Better Bones Tour. The
tour also featured osteoporosis screening and information about
bone health and getting enough calcium in the diet.
Photo by Leslie Champlin
Deadline is Sept. 4 for Employee Transfer
All hospital employees are reminded of the
transfer deadline - September 4. Deborah Hays, vice president of
Human Resources, says, “We are providing reminder letters to
all Hospital employees. In mid-July, employees received a letter
from Executive Vice Chancellor Donald Hagen, an informational
sheet and a notification form. The notification form advised
employees that they had 45 days to let the Hospital know if they
choose to decline the transfer from the state to the new
Authority. That deadline is September 4.” As of August 27,
no Hospital employees had declined the transfer.
If you have questions that have not yet been
answered through the Hotline, Town Hall series, the Topics Q-A
issues or in departmental meetings, please contact the Medical
Center Human Resources office at 588-5080.
KU Hospital buys 11 physician practices
KU Medical Center has reached a tentative
agreement to purchase the TriSource Medical Group from TriSource
Healthcare.
The agreement, when fully implemented, will
bring two Kansas and nine Missouri physician practices and 33
primary care physicians into the KU Medical Center system of
health services. The physicians serve about 70,000 metropolitan
area patients who account for more than 220,000 health care
visits a year.
“This partnership with the physicians in
the TriSource Medical Group will increase convenience for both
patients and referring physicians,” said Irene Cumming,
chief executive officer of KU Medical Center. “As a
TriSource partner and the region’s only academic medical
center, we see this as an opportunity to provide more convenient
access to our specialized, tertiary care services for patients
and physicians.”
Chris Hansen, vice president of ambulatory
services, agreed. “We have identified the specialized
services that are needed in the community and are creating
relationships with primary care physicians that can include
delivery of services closer to their homes,” he said.
“This is a natural extension of KU Medical Center into the
community.”
KU Medical Center has been a partner with
TriSource since its inception. TriSource partners comprise Blue
Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas City, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of
Kansas, KU Hospital, Olathe Medical Center, North Kansas City
Hospital, Providence Medical Center and Health Midwest.
Finalization of the purchase will not occur
for 60 days. During that time, the agreement will undergo
quality, financial and legal reviews.
New Paging System to be Introduced Throughout KU Medical Center
KU Hospital, KU Medical Center and KUPI
will change to a single paging system in September. The system,
implemented by AirTouch Paging, means that most employees will
get new pagers. This change also results in significant cost
savings, increased coverage areas, the ability to page from Pulse
and GroupWise, and increased battery life.
On Sept. 4th, employees who have pagers from
other vendors -- such as Mobilfone, PageNet or AT&T, and
employees with AirTouch pagers who are going from numeric to
alpha-numeric (or vice versa) pagers -- will be required to pick
up new AirTouch pagers. Pagers for physicians also will be
available on Sept. 4 through the clinical administrators.
Employees who have hospital pagers will exchange their pagers for
AirTouch pagers Sept. 14-18. Employees who already have AirTouch
pagers might be required to pick up new pagers. These employees
should check with their department supervisors for instructions.
A complete schedule for pager pick-up is outlined on the front
page.
On Sept. 9, the *5 system for paging will no
longer function. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on this date, the method
for dialing pagers will be as follows:
- Get outside phone line by dialing 9
- Enter 917 and the four-digit hospital pager
number.
-The system prompts, "Please leave your
message after the tone."
- Enter phone number you want to be called and
press the “#” key.
- Hang up.
All AirTouch pagers will have the 917 prefix.
Most employees will keep the same four digits as their hospital
pager number, so if your old pager number was 5251, your new
pager number will probably be 917-5251. To find out your new
pager number, check with your department supervisor.
For more information, pick up an information
sheet outside the main cafeteria beginning Sept. 2 or log on to:
www2.KUMC.edu/telephones/pagers.asp
Schedule for pick up of new pagers
Sept. 4th, 6 a.m.-6 p.m., Wyandotte Room. People with pagers
from other vendors - such as Mobilfone, PageNet or AT&T, and
employees with AirTouch pagers who are going from numeric to
alpha-numeric (or vice versa) pagers.
Sept. 14th-18th, 6 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, Wyandotte Room. People with
hospital pagers.
Pagers for physicians will be available through the clinical
administrators, beginning Sept. 4.
William Jewell, MD, director of the KU Cancer Institute, and
Dani Grady, lead the way to KU Medical Center as the Cancer
Survivors Tour makes its way into Kansas City. The tour chose
KUMC to recognize the Cancer Institute’s contribution to
cancer treatment and research.
Photo by Elissa Monroe
More than 50 represent KUMC at State Fair
KU Medical Center will be well-represented
at the Kansas State Fair Sept. 11-20, as more than 50 faculty,
clinicians and volunteers provide screenings, education and
career information to fair participants.
“Our theme is ‘we’re closer
than you think,’” said Amy Metcalf, wellness
coordinator and member of the KUMC State Fair Committee.
“The theme is to let Kansans know that...we have many
services throughout the
state.”
Comprising four areas, the KUMC exhibit will offer health
screenings in the Mobile Medical Unit. A wellness center will
provide blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose screenings for
$3. Other areas include osteoporosis, AIDS education, nutrition
information and children’s growth/development guidelines. A
career corner, staffed by faculty and volunteers, will provide
information about the educational requirements for medical,
nursing and allied health careers.
Committee members are Barbara Strain, Employee
Health and committee chair; Eldonna Sylvia, RN, ARNP, School of
Nursing; Ruby Jane Davis, Northeast AHEC director; Lorraine
Valentine, Rural Health/Community Projects with the Wichita
campus; Joseph Kyner, MD; Dale Grube, assistant dean for
continuing education; Helen Connors, RN, PhD, associate dean for
academic affairs, School of Nursing; Amy Metcalf; Ken Davis,
director of allied health; and Ilene Brawner, director of
continuing nursing education.
Around KUMC...
What’s New
SuperTrax starts Sept. 15
SuperTrax: Leadership in Action, KUMC's
leadership training program for managers and supervisors, begins
Sept. 5. The program is required for classified supervisors and
must be completed before permanent status can be attained.
Unclassified supervisors are strongly encouraged to attend.
Detailed information about each module is on our Pulse location:
http://www.kumc.edu/HR/training.html
For more information, call Training and
Development, ext. 7542.
Szeman Chan wins cancer research scholarship
Szeman Ruby Chan, PhD student in the
Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics and Immunology,
has received the Reatha Mae Resco Scholarship for the 1998-99
school year. The scholarship was established for students
interested in basic science cancer research. Her advisor is Bala
Chandran, PhD, professor in the Department of Microbiology,
Molecular Genetics and Immunology.
Genetics research scholarship goes to Gerald Call
Gerald Call, PhD, student in the Department of
Molecular and Integrative Physiology, has received the Dr. W. S.
Sutton Scholarship in genetics research for the 1998-99 school
year. His advisor is Michael W. Woilfe, PhD, assistant professor
in the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology.
KU to be part of Red Friday
Mark your calendar and join us for a
fun-filled evening at the City Market tomorrow evening.
That’s when KU will be in full force at the Kansas City
Chiefs pep rally, 5-10 p.m. In addition to the KUMC booth, KU
cheerleaders will be on hand to help us boost the Chiefs before
their season opener. You can register to win Jayhawk memorabilia
signed by head football coach Terry Allen and many other prizes.
The pep rally booth will increase Kansas City’s awareness of
KU Medical Center and its services.
Likewise, a newspaper sales team will promote
awareness of KU MedWest by greeting Shawnee area commuters and
selling Kansas City Star newspapers Friday morning. The KU team
and JayDoc will be near KU MedWest from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Coding Expertise grows at KUMC
The American Academy of Professional Coders
has certified 12 KU Physicians, Inc., employees as certified
professional coders. The employees had to pass a five-hour
national examination on CPT coding. CPT codes are used to
describe and bill physician services for inpatients and
outpatients. The appropriate choice of codes translates to
accurate billing and compliance with federal and insurance
regulations.
The employees met every two weeks for 10
months during a self-study program to develop a thorough
knowledge of CPT coding in anesthesia, surgery, radiology,
pathology and laboratory, medicine, evaluation and management
services, medical terminology and ICD-9 coding.
Congratulations to Michele Baldain, Ob/Gyn;
Mary Jo Daubensbeck, surgery; Ruth Delatorre, ophthalmology;
Cindy Neal-Keltner, Lenexa Family Health; Terry Orrick,
orthopedic surgery; Kathy Peters, RN, neurology; Debbie Robinson,
internal medicine; Annie Stanley, radiology; Stephanie Walker,
surgery; Lori Wilson, general surgery; and Linda Wood and Maureen
McGee, KUPI Administration.
palliative care service opens
KU Medical Center has unveiled the Kansas
City area’s only hospital-based palliative care service for
people who have terminal illness. A comprehensive service, the KU
Palliative Care Program provides inpatient, outpatient, and
hospice home care.
The program’s Palliative Care Consult
Team comprises nurses, physicians, social workers, dietitians,
pharmacists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and ministers.
Patients and families work with the team to plan the best ways to
manage pain and symptoms, ensure emotional and spiritual support,
and make end-of-life decisions. The process provides support for
family and enables the patient to live with dignity and hope
while coping with illness and loss.
KUMC’s Palliative Care Team has been
developing the program for more than three years. The group has
weekly care conferences, where they review case studies and keep
themselves updated on ethical and medical decisions. Team members
are Tony DeCarolis, MD; Gary Doolittle, MD; Teresa Long, MD;
Sarah Taylor, MD; Robert Twillman, PhD; Marge Barnett, RN;
Melanie Simpson, RN; Tiffany Karst, LCSW; Rosie Songer, LCSW; the
Rev. Jennie Malewski, Chaplain; Fr. Jerry Spencer; Barbara
Loveless, Dietician; David Mueller, Pharmacist.
Already, the Palliative Care service has
conducted in-service visits on KUMC hospital units. The full
consult team can be activated by physician order for a formal
Palliative Care Consult, or a nursing consult can be requested by
nursing staff. Call ext. 3807 for information.
Donald Hagen, EVC
We’ve achieved another milestone! Our campus strategic
plan calls for expanding our base in primary care. Last week, we
took our first steps when we purchased the TriSource physician
groups. As you read in the announcements, the additional patients
can be a major referral source
to our specialty physicians and hospital services. Our hospital
administrators are expanding our patient base. Now it is up to
our physicians, nurses, and other members of the healthcare team
to secure our new patients by providing the best treatments and
patient service. I hope you will warmly welcome our new
physicians and patients into our system.
One of my best jobs here is to recognize and
reward our faculty for their exemplary teaching. Last week,
administrators from the William T. Kemper Foundation, Chancellor
Hemenway, Dean Powell and I interrupted classes to announce the
Kemper Teaching Awards. The last one will be presented later this
today, so I can’t tell you all the winners. For the first
time, we used interactive televideo to connect with a Wichita
faculty member. These faculties join a prestigious group of
educators and they will be honored at a dinner where they will
receive a substantial award from the Kemper Foundation.
Congratulations to our award recipients, and keep up the
excellent work.
Our Alumni Road Show also traveled to Wichita
where Chancellor Hemenway, Deans Powell, Meek and Miller and I
visited with 65 special alumni and friends. We updated them on
recent events and listened to their ideas about improving our
education programs and outreach activities. Our alumni and
friends are critical to our growth and development. They play key
roles in recruiting, educating, and advising us. They bring
distinction and prestige to our schools as they achieve
excellence in their careers. Their generous gifts to our schools
provide scholarships, fund research programs, renovate space and
purchase badly needed equipment. We are very fortunate to have so
many loyal alumni and friends supporting our programs.
Starting today, Kansas City hosts the Second
World Congress of the World Association for Laser Therapy.
Approximately 500 representatives from 30 nations are gathering
to present the latest findings on the use of lasers to promote
tissue healing and relieve acute and chronic pain. Exhibitors
from seven nations are displaying and demonstrating the state of
the art technologies. Our Departments of Physical Therapy and
Continuing Education have been instrumental in organizing this
international conference. I’d like to congratulate our
faculty and staff who have worked so hard to bring this congress
to Kansas City.
Many of you sent me excellent suggestions
about improvements here. These have ranged from opportunities
with our facilities, computer systems, medical records, and even
the foundation pounding for our new School of Nursing education
building. I appreciate your commitment to our campus and your
desire to make this the best working and educational environment.
Please keep your suggestions coming. I’m always interested
in your ideas.
I’d like to issue a personal invitation
to our faculty to join me at 4 p.m. in Rieke Auditorium on
September 9. Our campus will connect with Lawrence and Wichita to
participate in Fall Convocation. We’ll hear Chancellor
Hemenway’s address. He will share important information
about his Initiative 2001. You won’t want to miss this!
Classifieds
For Sale
For Sale: Baldwin Acrosonic piano, mahogany case, recently tuned
and
appraised. Excellent condition. $1250. Call 531-5919.
For sale: Motorized treadmill, Sears Lifestyler Expanse 850.
Features include power incline, digital display, and folds for
storage. Nearly new with user’s manual. Paid $600, asking
$450 or best offer. Call 333-9279, leave message.
For Sale: Clarinet, Signet ‘intermediate’ grade, very
nice instrument, very well taken care of, $250 or best offer.
Call Janie, 722-6875.
For sale: Wedding dress, size 9, ivory, long train with hat,
lace, beautiful, excellent condition, professionally preserved.
$75.00 or best offer. Call Stacy at 531-6350.
For sale: GE Washer heavy duty, large capacity, $150. GE Dryer
Five-cycle with auto dry, $150. Both in excellent condition. Call
Michelle, 782-2106.
For sale: One huge, 30,000 BTU air conditioner, runs great! Call
671-8803.
For sale: Kenmore heavy-duty dryer; four years old, $75. Call
Angie, 836-8333
For Sale: Office desk with two drawers, built-in light,
corkboard, and electrical outlets. $50 or best offer. Call
648-5640.
For Sale: Sony Playstation, two controllers, one memory card,
cables, one game, $100. Call 722-0963 evenings.
For Sale: Whirlpool double oven gas range with electric igniter,
self-cleaning, $200. Call 541-9139 evenings and weekends.
For sale: Off-white camel back sofa. Good condition, $75. Call
362-8515.
For Sale: 1998 demo water ski Connelly Super, mid-$200. Call
393-0802.
For sale: Double wood bed frame. Room size air-conditioner.
Caruso hair curler. All priced to go. Call Faye, 461-6989.
For sale: Disc camera, $20. New, in-dash car stereo, AM-FM with
auto rewind, $50. Call 432-7475.
For sale: Color TV, $20. VCR, rarely used, $40. Wood patio bed
and mattress in good condition, $30. Call 685-4991.
For Sale: Color monitor, $100 or best offer. JVC CD/double
cassette player, excellent condition with two speakers and
remote, $200 or best offer. Color TV, $20. Call 498-0975, leave
message.
Garage Sales
Garage Sale: 2103 42nd Ave. between State Line and Rainbow, 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 4 and 5. Dolls, clothes-K/tall/woman, shoes,
crystal, gadgets, lamps, quilting frame, and lots more.
Automotive
For Sale: 1988 Bronco II, new transmission with only 6,000 miles,
new tires, great body, five-speed with overdrive, towing package,
wired for cell phone, and has CD player, $2,300 or best offer.
Call 236-5435.
For Sale: Two 1965 Mustangs, GT Fastbacks. Both restored. One
red, $12,500 or best offer, and one white, $7,400 or best offer.
Call 677-2930.
For Sale: 1984 Toyota Carolla, four-door sedan. Air conditioning,
automatic, 200,000 miles. Good condition, runs well. $800. Call
541-9139 evenings and weekends.
Housing
For Sale: Black Swan Community, Shawnee, nine miles from KUMC.
Five-bedrooms, three bathrooms, two family rooms, living and
dining rooms, huge kitchen, two decks, fenced. Two-thirds acre
wooded lot. New roof, furnace and air conditioning. Excellent
condition. Priced to sell. Call 268-8757 weekdays after 5 p.m.
and weekends between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
For rent: Studio apartment, completely furnished, including phone
for local calls. All utilities paid, $350 a month. Walk two
blocks to KUMC. Call 362-2538.
Wanted
Wanted: Ride from vicinity of Blue Ridge Cut-off and 40 Highway.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call Larry after 6 p.m., 353-2751.
Study Subjects
Reading study
Research participants aged 18-28 and 60-80 are needed for a
reading study. Participants will earn $10 for travel and parking
costs. Allow an hour for the session. Participants must be native
English speakers and be able to read a newspaper at arm’s
length. Glasses and contacts are acceptable. For information,
call Tracy or Rae, ext. 7165.
Laser care for wounds
Research participants needed for a study into laser medicine to
treat wounds that fail to heal or are slow to heal. Participants
will receive laser treatments at no cost. For more information,
call ext. 3146.
Topics
Information
Topics is the employee
publication of the University of Kansas Medical Center.
It is published weekly by the office of Public Relations and
Marketing. The deadline for submitting news briefs for
consideration is noon on the Wednesday before they are to appear.
For longer articles or features, contact the editor in advance.
Send story ideas to Leslie Champlin, acting editor, G114
Hospital, or e-mail: lchampli@ kumc.edu or call ext. 1602
Topics ad policy
Send or bring your ad to Topics, G114 KU Hospital, or fax to ext.
1225, or e-mail: lchampli@kumc.edu by noon Wednesday of the week
before it is to run.
Ads run free of charge for employees, students and volunteers.
For-sale ads are limited to three items. All ads must include the
advertiser’s name and work extension (or medical student box
number) for verification.
Only home phone numbers --- no pager numbers or KUMC extensions
--- will be published. No ads for commercial services or pets for
sale will be accepted. Ads will not be taken by telephone. Only
one phone number per ad.
Ads may be a held a week if space is limited.
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